Quinnipiac is a university on the rise. With expanding academic resources, a growing endowment and an overall commitment to building a solid regional and national reputation, excellence is seen in almost every facet of university life. It is essential to the continued success of our esteemed institution, however, that we analyze the weaknesses that are still prevalent on campus. By directly addressing the collective shortcomings we as a university embody, we can move forward to make changes and strive towards achievement and prominence. So what is this underlying issue, you ask, that I have so vaguely alluded to? Frankly, my friends, it’s all about respect.
When the power went out on that Saturday night, full moon glowing overhead, a once-in-a-lifetime scene was set: the perfect New England campus, a cool, starlit October night, and an almost electric social atmosphere. Anyone who was awake when the outage began will tell you that the night was one of the craziest this campus has ever seen (or at least in recent memory). And make no mistake; craziness is not a problem for me.
Excitement, reduced inhibitions, random “hook-ups” and a general atmosphere of lawlessness are not things that bother me either. Honestly, I am not even offended by vulgarity, drug use or other semi-illicit activities. We are, after all, on a college campus. All of these things seem mostly innocent and good-natured to me. After all, we are an intelligent group of students, mostly from good towns and respectable families. Ninety-nine percent of us can occasionally act out in one of these ways without long-term implications.
Then there are the others, those that cannot handle responsibility and so clearly still need their parents to hold their hands and remind them that their actions carry consequences. There is no better example of such immaturity than the one set by those obnoxious, grunting, drunkards who, in a fit of inebriated rage, decided to totally ravage and almost completely destroy a tree in the Hill and Village Circle.
Illuminated by the moonlight, these boys (notice the absence of the word men) hung from the branches, tore at the bark and broke off its limbs one by one. With an on-looking crowd of probably a hundred, these apes destroyed a piece of campus property, creating an eyesore that will not soon be fixed. Stripped of its branches, the tree stands in the center of the cul-de-sac, reminding passers-by of the egregious act of vandalism that took place that night.
In combination with picnic tables being thrown through windows, graffiti being sprayed on our buildings, and full beer bottles being thrown into crowds of students, it is safe to characterize some students on campus as disrespectful. I would even venture to say that those who disrupt our campus so carelessly do not deserve to be a part of it.
I will assume that those youngsters who destroyed the tree can read at least at a third grade level, so I will make my point to you very clearly and in an elementary manner: We will not accept this behavior. Our students deserve safety, our campus deserves to remain beautiful and our community will no longer be disrupted by your immaturity. I take this personally, because my friends will not be hit by your flying beer bottle, nor my campus destroyed by your childish behavior.
As a member of the Student Government Association, I will work to establish a code of honor at our school that Quinnipiac, like other schools throughout the country, will create an atmosphere of respect, tolerance, pride and accountability. In short, there is nothing wrong with getting drunk and being a little crazy. But those of you who are still not mature enough to handle the freedom of being away at college, and you know who you are, be reminded that you are in the minority.
I often hear it said that some cannot understand how such low-lives made it into our school. To those low-lives: Let me see you throw a beer bottle into a crowd of female freshmen again; Let one more tree be destroyed by you or one more girl called a “slut” in front of a crowd of jeering guys. While I cannot understand how you got into this school, make no doubt about it, I will be very sure of the way you leave it.